Hello!
If you are considering Rock n Fire as your choice for your daughters pitching instruction, PLEASE READ THIS INTRODUCTION FIRST:

Has your daughter’s velocity and/or skill level stagnated, or tapered off in the last 12 to 16 months?

Do your daughter’s pitches seem flat, and lack that late life and “pop” that other pitchers pitches possess?

Does your daughter often complain about pain or “soreness” in her arms, shoulders, back, hips, knees or ankles on a regular basis, after she throws?

Is your daughter being taught various, opposite or “multiple” pitching motions for the various pitches?

Is your daughter getting frustrated because she works hard but does not seem to be “getting anywhere?

Do you question whether your daughter’s current pitching coach possesses the proper levels of knowledge and experience, in both the areas of injury prevention and the bio-mechanics of pitching, as it pertains to the female body?

Do you question whether your daughter’s current pitching coach possesses a deep enough level of knowledge, understanding and experience, in the field of college recruiting?

---

If you have answered yes to any or all of these questions, there is a good chance that your daughter is not enrolled in a program that is thorough enough to provide her with the tools she needs for long term success. Continuing on this path can harm your daughter’s physical well being, as well as her recruitment/scholarship opportunities.The strategy of “throwing” money at the sport of softball by playing in more and more games, and making it to “all the right tournaments” on a year round basis, is not the total answer when it comes to trying to compete for recruitment opportunities. In fact over-use will only compound the problem. There are VERY FEW exceptions to this rule. If your daughter is not being guided, with close adherence to the proper fundamentals and biomechanics of the pitching motion, her chances of getting recruited are greatly reduced. And her risk of serious injury will be greatly increased. Rock n Fire offers a complete, comprehensive program that prepares each student physically, mentally, mechanically and emotionally for the rigors of softball pitching. Rock n Fire possesses over 25 years of coaching experience at every age group, and level of the sport. This includes 16 years of coaching experience at the division 1 and 2 levels of collegiate softball. Rock n Fire also takes great pride in being well versed and up to date, in the field of biomechanics and injury prevention. We strive to develop and instill into each of our students, all of the proper skills, techniques and habits required to perform at her “peak level”. We want each student to be able to perform safely and efficiently at every level of the game, up to and including the collegiate level: in some cases, even the professional level. Rock n Fire ALWAYS puts its students first. We make every effort to see that all students receive the proper training, guidance, support and advice needed to get her on the path to LONG TERM success. We DO NOT engage in teaching our students “gimmicks” or “quick fixes” to enhance their performance. We strictly adhere to the principles of physics and biomechanics, during every pitching session. As a result, the learning process early on, takes longer. And in MOST cases the student will notice a short- term decline in her performance. This is normal. It takes time (in most cases several months) for the new and PROPER techniques to feel natural. But if everyone “stays the course” and continues to do the right things, LONG TERM success usually follows

In the beginning, the process can prove to be a little “un-nerving” for the student, as well as her parents and coaches. We do everything we can to reduce the anxiety that is experienced by the student, early on in the process. We here at Rock n Fire do not concern ourselves with others whose opinions may differ from ours, as they pertain to the techniques, and/or philosophies we stress to our students. We chose to stress to each student, what we consider to be a “COMMON SENSE” approach to player development. We believe in putting development BEFORE competition, to help the student gain the “competitive edge”. Not the other way around. We believe that introducing accuracy or precision pitching (spots), “breaking pitches” and “strategies”, at the younger ages, before the basic fundamentals are learned, and at least “SOMEWHAT MASTERED”, is a recipe for disaster. Only in rare cases, does a student overcome what we feel is the mistake of introducing control before speed. We are very aware that most coaches prefer control before speed at every level, to reduce the amount of walks. We understand their plight. But we believe that engaging in the philosophy of introducing control and precision, before the fundamentals of speed and ball movement are mastered, is not conducive to developing prime pitchers. Forcing a pitcher to postpone, what must eventually be learned, will only “set her back” developmentally, in later years. We want our students to learn to throw correctly from the very beginning. We prefer to help provide coaches at all levels, with quality pitching. But we make a conscious effort to never put the coaches needs before the needs of our students. This practice may not always “sit well” with a student’s team coaches. But we will continue to respectfully decline to change the way we go about developing our pitchers. We here at Rock n Fire, have met with a tremendous amount of success, in adhering to our present formula for developing prime pitchers; we plan to stay with it. If, after reading this introduction, you feel that Rock n Fire may be a “good fit” for your daughter, please feel free to call us at 484-269-4281. We will be glad to help her get started on her “road to long term success”. We think that you will find that your experience was “well worth it”. Thank you for taking the time to read our introduction, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Respectfully,

Dan DeMarco/ Rock n Fire